Page 3655 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 8 December 1992
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ADJOURNMENT
Motion (by Mr Berry) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Racism
MRS GRASSBY (10.09): I rise this evening to speak once again on racism. It is distressing to me to be forced to do this. However, I believe that Mr Cornwell's comments earlier today must be addressed. Madam Speaker, firstly, Mr Cornwell charges that I and my husband in some way were involved in book burning. I refute this utterly. Mr Cornwell has obviously lost the plot. I am sure that the school books that Mr Cornwell grew up with that stated that man had not walked on the moon and was never likely to are no longer used in schools. Thank goodness. I believe that Mr Cornwell would be amongst the first who would call for removal of books and material that were factually wrong, just as I believe that school material that states that one race, religion or colour is superior to another must be removed from our schools.
Madam Speaker, as for the assertion that there is no racism, I would find that laughable if it were not so serious. I have met with the parents of two little Muslim girls in Canberra who have had their veils torn off and been told by other schoolchildren to get back to where they came from, although they were born in this country. If this is not racism, then I do not know what is. Madam Speaker, may I also remind Mr Cornwell that only recently the New South Wales Education Department was forced to move several teachers from a central coast high school as the teachers' language and actions had been discriminatory towards Aboriginals. Mr Cornwell has woven an illusion for himself that does not conform with the incidents and the statistics available.
I will quote from a publication launched by the Chief Minister this year called the Too Hard Basket, which gives these disturbing figures. Over 86 per cent of Australian-born young people from non-English-speaking cultures in Canberra see racism as a general problem. These were 16- to 25-year-olds. Between 15 and 16 per cent of the respondents felt that teachers were racist. These figures are an indictment of our community. Even more appalling is the belief by 10 per cent of these young people that the law will not do anything to help in cases of discrimination. Mr Cornwell claims that I use only anecdotal evidence. I hope he remembers these cold hard facts and manages to become better informed in an area that has affected Australian society for over 200 years.
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